When events dictated that I would pursue a career in computer programming—
rather than electrical engineering—I had no need for complex numbers, until Mandlebrot’s
work on fractals emerged. But that was a temporary phase, and I never
needed to employ complex numbers in any of my computer graphics software. However
in 1986, when I joined the flight simulation industry, I came across an internal
report on quaternions, which were being used to control the rotational orientation of
a simulated aircraft.
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